When it comes to the taste of potable water, there are measurable traits we can look at that impact our drinking experience and shape our preferences for which water tastes the best.
Effect of Chlorination
The first is residual chlorine which was discussed in our previous blog post. While chlorination is important for safety purposes, the higher the residual chlorine, the more of the “swimming pool smell and taste” we detect in our water. An example of chlorinated tasting water is the water found in swimming pools. Pools are often treated with high amounts of chlorine to kill any microorganisms found in the water. To address chlorine taste in water, carbon filtration technology was developed. The carbon filter reacts with the residual chlorine and converts it to chloride ions, which we cannot taste, thereby improving the taste of the water.
Effect of Water Hardness
Another factor that affects the taste of water is the amount of calcium and magnesium in our water, which we measure as “water hardness”. It is especially relevant for sources of water such as deep wells and springs where calcium and magnesium from natural rocks and geological formations leach into the water. An example of high-level water hardness is when we see white watermarks after the water has dried up on a glass or metal fixture at home. The more marks we see, the “harder” the water or the more dissolved calcium and magnesium. These compounds can often impart a chalky taste to our water, leaving a dry sensation on our tongues after drinking. To address this chalky taste, water filtration technologies commonly used are Water Softeners and Reverse Osmosis.
Water Softeners remove the dissolved calcium and magnesium from the water, thereby “softening” the water. However, in exchange is an increase in dissolved sodium that can cause as a health concern for some. The increase in sodium can also impact the taste by imparting a salty taste to the water.
Reverse Osmosis (RO) is usually the gold standard for treating water hardness in drinking water as it effectively removes the dissolved minerals without adding anything into the water. It does this through a very fine filtration membrane with pores averaging around 0.0001 microns in size. For reference, the calcium atom has a radius of roughly 0.0003 microns, 3x larger than the average pore size of a standard reverse osmosis membrane. The result is what we often refer to as “Purified Water” since it produces water that is almost free of anything. Distilled water is a step further to this process because it essentially removes everything from the water, but as a result, can also make the water taste “flat” or tasteless because it is devoid of all its minerals.
Effect of Storage Containers
The last factor that can significantly affect the taste of your drinking water is the storage container. This kind of water taste is common in water bought at refilling stations that use reusable gallons, as well as bottled and tumbler-stored water. When water is purified (i.e. a significant amount of its minerals have been removed), it can often leach flavors from its surrounding containers (ex. plastic and metal). That is why when water is left to sit for a long time in a plastic or metal container it can often have a slight plastic or metal taste when we drink. That is not only a problem for taste but is also problematic from a health perspective.
The “Numa Taste”
When we designed our two main filtration systems (UF and RO), we kept all these issues in mind to offer the best tasting water possible. In both systems, we use two stages of carbon block filtration to ensure that the residual chlorine is maintained as close to zero as possible. We also handpicked a coconut carbon type of filter to use in our systems since these generally have fewer impurities compared to other types.
Second, by employing both the UF and RO technologies, we can adapt to different sources of water to offer customers the most suitable system for their specific water source. For areas with high water hardness, we recommend using our RO water purifier to ensure that the dissolved calcium and magnesium are removed as well as any possible microbial contamination. But in areas with low water hardness, we recommend using our UF water purifier to preserve a small number of dissolved minerals in the water without compromising taste and safety.
Lastly, in all of our systems, we use an NSF-rated storage tank to store the water our purifiers produce. This ensures that only food-grade components are in contact with your water and it is kept away from sunlight and other external contaminants. With Numa, you can find the best tasting water designed just for you.
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